Presider: Like our ancestors, we honor the cycles and the seasons that remind us of the ever-changing flow of life of which we are a part. Ritual acts give life meaning – they honor and acknowledge the unseen web of Life that connects us all.

Presider: (lights candle as community prays..)

ALL: We light this second candle and remember our ancestors who feared death, evil and all the dark powers of winter. We, too, in our day fear the darkness of war, discrimination, xenophobia and selfishness that threaten us and our planet to an eternal winter. Let us kindle the light of peace! Amen

Kathryn Shea ARCWP and Karen Hylen, Co-Presiders

ALL: Loving God, as we begin our Advent pilgrimage, grant us the courage to create peace. Peace in our hearts. Peace in our homes. Peace in our world. Let us pray that the peace of Christ be in the hearts of everyone, healing this troubled world. Amen

Refrain: Rejoice, rejoice, O people of the earth! In God's great love we comprehend our worth!

You come, with grace, O Source of Light,

You teach us to find courage in the night.

Your way is justice, mercy and peace,

Your wisdom is the path to true release. Refrain.

Opening Prayer

Presider: Nurturing God, you became human in Jesus and showed us how to live life fully. You know what it means to laugh and cry, to walk and talk, to love and be loved. We know that your mothering presence is always with us. May we, like Mary, rejoice as we give birth to God within us, and may we give birth to God in everything we say and do. ALL: Amen.

ALL: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth. O loving God, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. O Jesus Christ, holy Child of our loving God; You fill us with joy in your presence. You who are with our God, receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One; you alone are Messiah. You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ; with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God. Amen.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 ALL: Thanks be to God

Responsorial: Our souls are thirsty for God.

Michael Rigdon led the Responsorial Psalm

Second Reading: A reading from Abiding Word by Barbara Reid ALL: Thanks be to God

Gospel Acclamation: ALL: Alleluia (Celtic version)

Karen proclaimed the Gospel

Gospel: Mark 1:1-8 ALL: Thanks be to God

Kathryn shared the homily starter

Shared Homily/Community Reflections
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Second Sunday of
Advent – December 9, 2017

Feast Day of Our
Lady of Guadalupe – December 12, 2017

Homily Starter

We hear in our second reading today that Advent is “a season to wait in
anticipation for what this new piece of art will become.” I think anticipation is a key word. I can’t imagine anyone in a heightened state
of anticipation than Mary in the months and days before Jesus was born. If you’ve ever been pregnant, it is a time of
constant anticipation. Is it a boy or a
girl? Will it be okay? Will I be okay? Will I be a good mother? And when you first
begin to feel the baby move inside of you, it’s like something you have never
experienced. You are in a state of awe,
realizing what a miracle is taking place.
And as you move into your eighth month and your belly is huge, and the
baby is kicking constantly, you wonder if there’s really a baby in there or a
kangaroo! And then you give birth; the
largest miracle of all. And then, as we
hold our new baby in our arms, we wonder, “What will this new piece of art
become?”

The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe is fascinating. Mary appeared to Juan Diego on the morning of
December 12, 1531, She wished to have a church built and be acknowledged as the
Mother of the True God. After the bishop
deflected the Virgin’s request, Juan brought roses in his cloak as a sign. Unfurling his cloak, Juan revealed a
miraculous image of Mary wearing a black maternity belt and bearing the jasmine
flower over her womb. The image is
filled with Aztec symbolism. The aura or luminous light surrounding the Lady is
reminiscent of the “woman clothed with the sun” of Rev. 12:1. The rays of the sun would also be recognized
by the native people as a symbol of their highest god. The lady comes forth hiding but not
extinguishing the power of the sun. She
is announcing the God who is greater than their sun god.

The lady is standing on the moon.
Again, the symbolism is that of the woman of Rev.12-1 who has the “moon
under her feet.” The moon for the
Meso-Americans was the god of night. By
standing on the moon, she shows she is more powerful than the god of
darkness.

The eyes of our Lady of Guadalupe are looking down with humility and
compassion. This was a sign to the
native people that she was not a god since in their iconography the gods stare
straight ahead with their eyes wide open. The angel, her mantle, the stars on
her mantle, and the color of her dress, have all been identified as symbols to
specifically relate to the native people in their language. The stars on her mantle are in the same
relative configuration as the stars in the heavens on the morning of December
12, 1531; the northern constellations on her right, the southern constellations
on her left.

What I find most fascinating is that she decided to appear and leave the
image of her pregnancy. According to a
leading Mexican obstetrician, the Lady appears almost ready to give birth with
the infant head down. Historians and
theologians speculate this is a symbol of new life and the undeniable fact the
Mary is without a doubt the Mother of Jesus, Emmanuel. Despite more than twenty-two languages and
almost fifty dialects spoken at that time, all were able to read and understand
all that is contained in this sacred image.
So it was in this manner eight million native were converted to
Christianity in the incredibly short span of seven years.

In Guadalupe, Mary appeared to Juan Diego as an inspiration to the
people in their continuing struggle towards the full realization of the kindom
of God and to share God’s message that no one is excluded from the kindom.

Let us examine ourselves as we pray Mary’s prayer, eliminating the word
“sinners.’

“Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed are you among
women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us now and
at the hour of our death. Amen.”

Let’s take a moment to reflect on the readings and the story. How does Mary speak to you to find the God
within you?

Profession of Faith

ALL: We believe in God who is creator and nurturer of all. We believe in Jesus, the Christ, who is our love, our hope, and our light. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath of Wisdom Sophia, who energizes and guides us to build caring communities and to challenge injustices. We believe in the communion of saints our heavenly friends, who support us on life’s journey. We believe in the partnership and equality of women and men in our church and world. We believe that all are one in the community of creation. We believe that God who calls us to live fully, love tenderly, and serve generously. Amen.

Prayers of the Community

Presider: We are a people of faith; we believe in the power of prayer. We are mindful of God’s unconditional love and care for each of us. And so, we pray for a deeper coming of Christ in our world and of God anew in our lives. And, so we bring the needs of the people to our merciful and gracious God. After each intercession, please respond: Compassionate God, we ask you to bless our petitions. (intentions)

Presider: Healing God, we ask you to strengthen us in our concerns and care for one another, here and throughout the world. We ask you to bless our efforts for justice and equality so that, with our sisters and brothers, we may promote cultures of peace and nonviolence on our planet. We ask this in your Holy name. Amen.

Offertory Procession and Song: “Holy Darkness” #458, all verses

Presider: Blessed are you, God of all life, through your goodness we have this bread to offer…this grain of the earth that human hands have made for our use. It will become for us the bread of life.

ALL: Blessed be God forever.

Presider: Blessed are you, God of Love, through your goodness we have this wine to offer…this fruit of the vine that human hands have prepared for our use. It will become for us our spiritual drink.

ALL: Blessed be God forever.

Gathering of the Gifted

Presider: Jesus, who has often sat at our tables, now invites all of us to join him at his. Everyone is welcome to share in this meal. (The invitation is to everyone to join around God’s family table.)

ALL: Loving and caring God, we – your people – are united in this sacrament by our common love of Jesus. We are in communion with everyone, everywhere, who shares your gift of compassion - especially to all those who are marginalized and oppressed. We hold dearly Our Lady of Guadalupe, a symbol of justice defending the poor and those without power. May we love tenderly, do justice, and walk humbly with you in solidarity with our sisters and brothers. May we live always as prophetic witnesses to the gospel of Jesus. Amen.

Presider: Friends, let us recognize the presence of our God who is with us here now.

ALL: Fill us with reverence for our Creator, for one another, and for all creation.

Presider: Let us lift up our hearts.

ALL: We lift them up to the One who has gifted us with love so that we may be an expression of that love to all others, with no exceptions.

Presider: God dwells in each one of us.

ALL: We experience, practice, and pursue community with one another.

Eucharistic Prayer

Presider: Source of light, we seek you in this season of winter, when the days are short and we lift up our hearts and ease our souls into that quiet place which is your presence among us.

Presider: Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together.

(written by Jay Murnane)

All: Source of All That Is, we seek you in this season, when the earth is resting and preparing for new life. Like the earth, we long for new life and hopeful beginnings. This is the time of the pregnant woman, filled with life and hope powerful enough to topple structures of oppression. This is the time of her song of fidelity and celebration.

During this gentle season of Advent, we recognize that you have made us capable of bringing forth justice, like a rising sun. One with all who have gone before us, we say these words of praise:

Blessed be our God!

Blessed be our God!

Joy of our hearts, source of all life and love!

God of Heaven and Earth!

God of Heaven and Earth!

Dwelling within, calling us all by name!

Alleluia, sing!

Alleluia, sing!

(Alleluia Sing by David Haas)

We thank you for those in times past who believed the good news, and lived what they believed.

Blessed is Isaiah and every visionary who insisted on a better future that would break through the deception, disaster and broken promises of the age in which they lived.

Blessed is John, in the stark desert of careful focus, inviting the people to be born again in your love.

Blessed is Miriam, who believed the words of Isaiah and opened herself up to the unbelievable.

And blessed is her child Jesus, who felt the sorrows of humankind in his soul, and responded with deep and tender compassion.

ALL: On the night before he faced his own death, Jesus sat at the Seder supper with his companions and friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly with them, he bent down and washed their feet.

(Presider lifts plate) When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the Passover bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:

Take and eat of the Bread of Life, Given to strengthen you. Whenever you remember me like this I am among you (pause)

Take and drink of the covenant made new again through my life in you. Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you.

Let us share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace (pause)

All: We give thanks for our tradition, which is a living history of your love for all creation. We join ourselves with that tradition, as the visionaries and healers and peacemakers of our own time in history.

We celebrate the many creative traditions which guide and form us and we are grateful that there are many paths to wisdom and life.

Each Advent we make a place in our prayer for all those who are oppressed and marginalized in so many places throughout this earth, and right here among us.

We are grateful for the gift of your Spirit, always drawing beauty and balance out of chaos. And like Jesus.

Standing where he stood,

And for what he stood,

And with whom he stood,

We are united in your Spirit, and worship you with our lives,

All: Amen.

Presider: Gracious God, through us you have set the banquet table and invited all of us to the feast. Here we celebrate your divine love beyond what words can describe. Here your divine compassion connects us to the young and the old, the most and the least, the first and the last…your whole creation.

ALL: Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, Creator God, forever and ever... (and everyone sings)…Amen.

ALL: (holding hands): Our Father and Mother, who are in heaven, blessed is your name…

Presider: God, we have just prayed that “your kindom may come among us.” Strengthen in us your grace and love so that we may open our hearts to make it real - and our hands to serve one another.

ALL: We give ourselves willingly and joyfully to one another. .

The Sign of Peace

Presider: Jesus, you said to your disciples, “My peace I leave you; my peace I give you.” Look on the faith of those gathered here today and …

ALL: …. grant us that peace. O Loving God, following the example of Jesus and with the strength of the Spirit, help us spread that peace throughout the world, to everyone, everywhere, no exceptions. Amen.

Presider: May the peace of God be always with us, and let us extend that peace to one another as we join hands in a circle of love and sing Let there be peace on earth #532 using the following:

( “… with God as creator, family all are we …” and “With every breath I take, let this ...” )

Litany for the Breaking of the Bread

Presider: Loving God… All: you call us to Spirit-filled service and to live the Gospel of peace and justice, we will live justly.

Presider: Loving God… All: you call us to be your presence in the world and to be bearers of understanding and compassion, forgiveness and healing everywhere in your name. We will love tenderly.

Presider: Loving God… All: you call us to speak truth to power and live equality. We will walk humbly with you.

Presider: This is Jesus, who liberates, heals, and transforms us and our world. He calls us, his sacred people to open doors that are closed and share our bread on the altar of the world. All are invited to partake of this banquet of love. ALL: In communion with our sisters and brothers we eat of one bread and drink of one cup. We are all the body of Christ.

Communion: Instrumental

Post Communion Song: Guadalupe reflection-Mark Mallett &

Mary Did You Know-Pentatonix

Prayer After Communion

Presider: Creator of new beginnings, thank you for nourishing us in your sacrament. Mother of Mercy, teacher of hidden and silent sacrifice, to you, we dedicate on this day all our being and our love. We also dedicate to you our life, our work, our joys, our weaknesses, and our sorrows. We wish to be entirely yours and to walk with you along the way of complete faithfulness. Hold us always with your loving hand. ALL: Amen.

Introductions, Gratitudes, and Announcements

Closing Community Blessing

(Let us all extend an arm to one another in mutual blessings)

ALL: Let us go with Jesus, the Light of the world who is always with us and whose light guides us on our journeys. May our hope be that the Sun of Justice will rise one morning on all humankind. May the God of Peace, our constant companion, lead us along paths of solidarity and hope, and give us the joy of being united in God’s love. Amen.

Closing Community Commissioning

Presiders: May we continue to be the face of God to each other. May we call each other to extravagant generosity! May our light shine for all to see, and may our name be a blessing in our time. Let our service continue. .